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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29333001">827</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/chapsTHICC/pseuds/chapsTHICC'>chapsTHICC</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>turning fluff into angst [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Hospitals, I'm Sorry, Mentioned Sawamura Daichi, Not Canon Compliant, Origami, Pain, Sad Yamaguchi Tadashi, Terminal Illnesses, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Tsukishima Kei &amp; Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, Tsukishima Kei Needs a Hug, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, Wishes, Yamaguchi Tadashi Needs a Hug, about folding 1000 paper cranes?, have you ever heard that story, paper cranes, yeah it's like that</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:35:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,256</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29333001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/chapsTHICC/pseuds/chapsTHICC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"What's this?" Yamaguchi tilted the lid of the box to reveal....<br/><em>Paper cranes...?</em><br/>"I didn't know you were into origami, Tsukki!"<br/>"Yeah, I guess...."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tsukishima Kei &amp; Yamaguchi Tadashi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>turning fluff into angst [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2115924</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>827</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i thought of this on like feb 8 2021 after 10 pm<br/>this probably goes exactly as you expect it to</p><p>i used a fluff prompt list (but only when i was writing the end lol) and used 30. "You are more than you think of yourself. You’re everything to me.", 59. "People like me aren’t supposed to have someone like you, I think fate was being harsh on you.", and 32. "You’re the best thing that has, and ever will, happen to me." (though 30 and 32 were slightly edited lol)<br/><a href="https://a-cure-for-writers-block.tumblr.com/post/171530282467/100-dialogue-prompts-to-make-a-reader-swoon">prompt list i used</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>89</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima had been quiet lately. Yamaguchi knew this was common, but it was a different kind of silence than usual. A worrying silence.</p><p>Against his better judgement, he decided to do a little investigating one day while hanging out in his friend's room after school in their first year of high school. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until he found the box. It was about the length of his forearm, the width of his head, and went up to about halfway up his shins. It was hiding on a barely visible shelf in Tsukishima's closet. It was surprisingly light when Yamaguchi took it out, and he stared at it for a moment before setting it on the floor.</p><p>"What's this?" He mumbled to himself, and he tilted the lid of the box to reveal....</p><p>
  <em>Paper cranes?</em>
</p><p>Not just a few, either. There were probably close to a hundred of them. All different colors, too. Some had patterns, some were plain, but they were all obviously folded by the same person. Yamaguchi picked one up and studied it as his thoughts raced.</p><p>
  <em>Why would Tsukki have so many paper cranes? They're cute, but I didn't think he'd collect something like these.... Maybe they're sentimental? I should ask him about them.</em>
</p><p>"Yamaguchi, what are you doing?"</p><p>Looks like he wouldn't have to wait long to ask.</p><p>"O-oh, hi Tsukki!" He turned to smile at the taller boy. "I was just wondering um... well, I found this box of paper cranes, and... I didn't know you were into origami, Tsukki!"</p><p>He barely responded, only frowning, then shrugging and muttering a few words. "Yeah, I guess...." He pushed the box aside with his foot and casually changed the subject.</p><p> </p><p>251</p><p> </p><p>They didn't talk about the box again for a while. Yamaguchi hadn't forgotten about it, of course; he liked to sneak a peak of it every once in a while, and he'd noticed that the number of cranes had grown to over two hundred recently. He hadn't asked Tsukishima about it because he didn't seem too interested in the topic, but soon the box came up without Tadashi having to say anything.</p><p>Mostly because Tsukishima nearly passed out.</p><p>If Yamaguchi had been the one to define it, he would've said Tsukki had <em>definitely</em> passed out, but the middle blocker insisted he hadn't lost consciousness and therefore it didn't count. Either way, he'd fallen unexpectedly in the middle of practice and the captain had made the decision to let him go home early. Yamaguchi too, of course, to make sure the incident didn't repeat itself with worse consequences. They were still walking when Tsukishima spoke.</p><p>"Do you remember the box of paper cranes you found?"</p><p>Yamaguchi blinked, not having expected such a seemingly random question. "Uh, yes? Why?"</p><p>"I figured you would," he responded with a sigh. "I folded them. Each one of those cranes. You know the story, don't you?"</p><p>"You mean the legend about how, if you fold thousand paper cranes, you get a wish granted?"</p><p>Tsukishima nodded. "I know it's kind of dumb, and I've never really believed in those legends, but...." Yamaguchi smiled and patted his shoulder.</p><p>"I think it's cool, Tsukki! It's nice to have something like that to believe in and imagine about! Do you already know what you want to wish for?"</p><p>He shrugged. "I have an idea. But it's not like I came up with this; Akiteru insisted I do it...."</p><p>"I'm glad you're getting along with him better," Yamaguchi responded. Tsukishima didn't say anything.</p><p> </p><p>338</p><p> </p><p>"Tsukki, will you teach me how to fold paper cranes?"</p><p>Tsukishima was clearly surprised by the sudden request. "Why?"</p><p>"So I can help you reach a thousand, of course!" Yamaguchi winked. Tsukishima considered this, then frowned.</p><p>"Do you think it'll still work if I don't fold all of them?"</p><p>"Oh, good point..." Yamaguchi's excitement faded, but quickly returned. "What if I just do most of it and you do the last step? Then you technically did fold it, right?"</p><p>They both fell silent for a moment, but then, unexpectedly, Tsukishima began to laugh. Yamaguchi felt his heart swell with joy and pride, then laughed along with his friend. When they had calmed down, Tsukishima looked at his friend, still smiling.</p><p>"Are you stupid?" He mumbled with another small chuckle. "There's no way it'd count...."</p><p>"Then I'll just fold them all the way and give them to you, and they'll be yours to do with what you will," the freckled boy reasoned, grinning.</p><p>"You're ridiculous."</p><p> </p><p>585</p><p> </p><p>They didn't have sleepovers as frequently since they entered high school, so Yamaguchi was grateful every time he got the chance to stay the night at the Tsukishima household. This particular night, they snuck outside to look at the stars from a nearby hill. Yamaguchi would point out some constellations he knew the names of, and then make up some and try to make Tsukishima laugh, just like they had when they were younger. Tonight was harder than usual, but he was certain the blond snickered a bit when he called a single dim star "Tangerine". Eventually, Yamaguchi ran out of things to say, and they laid in silence for a while.</p><p>"Yamaguchi."</p><p>"Hm?"</p><p>"We have almost 600 cranes now."</p><p>"Oh, you're right."</p><p>"Do you want to know what I'm thinking about wishing for?"</p><p>Yamaguchi turned his head towards his friend, but the blond's gaze was still focused on the stars. "I-I mean, if you want to tell me...."</p><p>"I've narrowed it down to two options. If one of the wishes doesn't come true, then I want the other one to."</p><p>After Tsukshima didn't say anything else for a minute, Yamaguchi sat up. "Were you going to tell me?"</p><p>Tsukishima shook his head. "I can't bring myself to yet. I'll write it down and show it to you later, if you must know."</p><p> </p><p>690</p><p> </p><p>The second worst day of Yamaguchi's life was the day he got the call. He ran out of the house almost immediately, barely remembering his shoes and a coat, and raced down the streets until he reached the Tsukishima residence. Akiteru was waiting there, and he drove them both to the hospital in silence. Yamaguchi did what he could to hold back his tears, but seeing his childhood best friend lying in a bed with sheets nearly as pale as his skin caused a few tears and a whimper to leak out. Kei's head turned at the sound, and his eyes widened and focused a glare on his older brother.</p><p>"I thought I told you not to tell him."</p><p>"I didn't <em>tell</em> him anything," Akiteru muttered, looking away.</p><p>"Then what's he doing here?"</p><p>"He just came to our house and got into the car with me when I asked if he wanted a ride. I think Mom and Dad called him...."</p><p>"Tsukki," Yamaguchi interrupted, stepping forward slowly. "What's going on? Are you okay?" He felt the tension in the room as soon as the words left his mouth. No one would look at him, not even his friend. The situation slowly revealed itself to him in the way Tsukishima's parents sadly gazed at their younger son, the pained sigh the older brother let out, and the annoyed, yet sorrowful, expression on Kei's face. Yamaguchi slowly lifted shaky hands to cover his mouth as more tears started to fall when the realization hit fully.</p><p>"Y-you've been this w-way... f-for a wh-while...?" He managed to stutter through the increasing amount of tears. "A-and you d-d-didn't t-tell me?"</p><p>"It's not like there was anything you could've done," Tsukishima muttered, blinking a few times before looking at his friend. "Telling you would've just made you worry unnecessarily, right?"</p><p>"Not telling me sooner makes me worry even more!" Even Yamaguchi was surprised by how much he'd raised his voice, but he didn't have much time to think about it because Tsukishima soon spoke again.</p><p>"I thought I'd get better."</p><p>The floor seemed to fall out from under Yamaguchi and cause him to fall into a bottomless void.</p><p>"Wh-what...?" He stumbled forward a couple steps. "Tsukki, you... o-of course you'll g-get better, r-right...?"</p><p>Tsukishima turned his head away silently, but it was enough of an answer to bring Yamaguchi to his knees as his body racked with sobs. He felt warm arms wrap around him and somehow knew Akiteru was trying to comfort him, but there wasn't much he could do. Yamaguchi's best friend was going to die, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.</p><p> </p><p>762</p><p> </p><p>"So, is your wish to get better?" Yamaguchi creased the thin square of paper halfway one way, then the opposite way.</p><p>Tsukishima nodded slowly. "Obviously, that's not gonna happen-"</p><p>"It still can!"</p><p>He sighed at his friend's quick response. "You don't believe that. I've accepted the fact that I'll die. I just have to live until that happens."</p><p>Yamaguchi's hands trembled enough for him to have a hard time continuing folding. "How c-can you say th-that?" He muttered, clenching his fists as a couple tears fell. "You s-sound so... r-ready, a-and... haven't you th-thought about u-us??" He sniffed and looked up at the blond with a glare, biting his lower lip to keep it from trembling. Tsukishima sighed.</p><p>"Don't look at me like that.... Of course I've thought about you. If you don't get it by now, maybe you will later."</p><p>Yamaguchi didn't understand. How could he? It hurt too much to even think about.</p><p> </p><p>827</p><p> </p><p>Yamaguchi couldn't bear to look at the lifeless body that he knew lay in the coffin. He couldn't even manage a glimpse at the photo of the deceased. All he could look at was the last thing his best friend had touched while alive: the eight hundred and twenty-seventh paper crane. They'd never reached one thousand, not before it was too late. He spent the whole funeral staring at the paper crane, barely responding to anything.</p><p>He stayed that way for several days, missing classes, practice, even meals, curled up in bed, holding the last paper crane. The origami paper it had been made with was a dark green with thin, pale yellow stripes. He traced the stripes with his eyes until they were too blurry to make out, then buried his face in his pillow and murmured incoherent words about wishing Tsukki was still there. Stare, murmur, repeat. He didn't even know what day it was when he finally got out of bed and saw the envelope on the floor. He slowly picked it up, his hands beginning to shake when he saw the handwriting. He knew that handwriting. He couldn't open the letter. Not yet.</p><p> </p><p>1,000</p><p> </p><p>It had been a year. Yamaguchi was in the last few months of his senior year. He sat down on his bed and glanced at the picture with the letter propped up against it. He smiled slightly, his eyes only stinging a little as he picked up the letter to read the familiar, strangely comforting words once again. The writing was partially faded where the paper folded, but it was okay; Yamaguchi already knew exactly what it said. He'd practically memorized it, mouthing the words as his eyes followed the strokes of the pencil, from his smudged name at the top to the crinkled splotches from dried tears at the bottom.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>Dear Tadashi,</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>     If you're reading this, I'm probably dead and you're probably crying or something. Honestly, you could be doing something much more productive, but I'll let you off the hook this time. If you must know, I was scared. I didn't want to die, just as much as you didn't want me to. But I guess we all die someday, right? I'm honestly just a bit annoyed that Akiteru gets to outlive me.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>     Anyway, there's something I meant to tell you back when we were looking at the stars. Obviously, you know my first wish by now, but since that clearly didn't work, I have to hope the other one will. I don't think I can write it here, but I'll put it in a place you will find it. You're smart enough to figure it out.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>     I don't want to write a whole long paragraph, so I'll keep this part short: thank you. I'm really glad to have known you. I hope you can recover quickly from this event and not blame yourself. That would be kind of stupid.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Yours until the end,              </em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Tsukishima Kei</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>Yamaguchi knew the words on the back as well, the ones Tsukshima hadn't tried hard enough to erase:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>People like me aren’t supposed to have someone like you, I think fate was being harsh on you.</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>He sniffed, quickly rubbing his eyes. He had never found the second wish. Tsukki had overestimated his ability, hadn't he? But, as he put the letter back in its place, the other object that sat by the picture frame caught his eye.</p><p>The last paper crane.</p><p>He'd never unfolded it, of course; it had been the last thing Tsukishima had done. He didn't want to erase that. And yet...</p><p>With slow, hesitant hands, he reached out and plucked the crane from its place, unfolding it carefully. The words that greeted him brought more tears to his eyes than he'd ever cried before.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>You are more than you think of yourself. You're the best thing that has, and ever would have, happened to me. Make more friends and find someone to love. You deserve everything in the world and more. I'll see you again someday, Yamaguchi.</em>
  </p>
</blockquote>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry</p><p>questions, constructive criticism, and theories are always welcome<br/>until next time, peace &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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